Film Review
Of the many adaptations of Emily Brontë's classic novel that have
graced cinema and television screens over the past century, this lavish
1930s version is unquestionably one of the finest. Its producer,
the great Samuel Goldwyn, considered it his favourite film - which is
some accolade, worth more than a dozen Oscars - and it famously
launched the Hollywood career of the great English actor Laurence
Olivier. With its atmospheric sets and brooding cinematography,
the film crisply evokes the darkness and cruel perversity of
Brontë's novel, the eerie lighting accentuating the destructive
and mysterious nature of the passions that ruin the lives of the
protagonists and propel them to their self-willed doom.
What is perhaps most surprising about this version of
Wuthering Heights is how good it
is, given that its production was fraught with difficulties and
near-disasters. Goldwyn was at first lukewarm about the project
and only agreed to buy the rights when he learned that Warner Brothers
had expressed an interest in buying a script treatment commissioned by
rival producer Walter Wanger. The story had little appeal
to Goldwyn, who found its subject dull and depressing. He tried
to persuade William Wyler, whom he hired to direct the film, to lighten
it somewhat. Alternative titles were even suggested by Goldwyn's
sales department, one being
Dark Laughter. Fortunately, Wyler
resisted such artistic sacrilege, and whilst the screenplay telescoped
Brontë's novel considerably, it remained pretty faithful to it in
mood and content.
Another bone of contention was the casting of the lead
parts. From the outset, Goldwyn wanted Merle Oberon to play
Cathy, and he was easily persuaded (by screenwriter Ben Hecht) that
Laurence Olivier would be the perfect Heathcliff. At the time,
Olivier was better known as a stage actor and had yet to make his
breakthrough in cinema. He agreed to take the part if his
fiancée Vivien Leigh could play Cathy, something which Goldwyn
would never agree to. Having seen Robert Newton, Wyler was
convinced he would be ideal as the brooding Heathcliff, but Goldwyn
dismissed the idea, considering the actor too ugly to play a leading
character in one of his films. Olivier was persuaded to play
Heathcliff, and this happily coincided with Vivien Leigh being offered
the role of Scarlett O'Hara in David O. Selznick's production of
Gone with the Wind. The
third actor in this eventful drama was David Niven. He was very
reluctant to play the part of the terminally bland Edgar Linton, but
had no choice but to accept the role as he was under contract to Sam
Goldwyn.
They say that opposites attract. This certainly did not apply in
the case of Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon. Bringing together
the highly regarded stage actor (with the ego to match) and an aspiring
but somewhat talentless film starlet turned out to be only marginally
less clever than dropping a dozen lighted matches into a crate of
dynamite. To say that Olivier and Oberon did not get on
would be an understatement. They loathed each other. Wyler's harsh - some might say
sadistic - treatment of both actors
hardly helped matters, but it did at least improve the quality of their
performances. When he first saw Olivier performing, Goldwyn
was horrified - he saw enough uncured ham for him to open a chain of
delicatessens the length and breadth of America. Under Wyler's
uncompromising tutelage, Olivier moderated his acting style and gave an
acceptable performance; the actor would later pay homage to Wyler for
the help he gave him in making the transition from stage to film.
Goldwyn's initial qualms that the film might be too grim for it to
appeal to an American cinema audience were borne out by the negative
feedback that came from a sneak preview. The producer was by now
adamant that it
had to have a
happy ending and so he commissioned a simple but effective coda in
which the two lovers appear to be united. As the lead actors had
by this stage returned to England, doubles were hired for this brief
sequence. Through a happy combination of circumstances - Wyler's
artistic judgement complemented by Goldwyn's commercial nous - the end
result was a success: a compelling film drama
that captures with a searing emotional intensity the pathos of a
thwarted love that transforms itself into the deadliest poison.
© James Travers 2008
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next William Wyler film:
The Letter (1940)
Film Synopsis
Home to the Earnshaw family, Wuthering Heights sits proud and
inviolable as a fortress on the wind-blasted Yorkshire Moors,
oblivious to the tragedies that lie ahead.
After a visit to Liverpool, Mr Earnshaw surprises his two young
children, Cathy and Hindley, by returning with a scruffy orphan boy
named Heathcliff. Hindley resents his father's decision to
adopt the urchin, but Cathy and Heathcliff become the best of
friends. On Earnshaw's death a few years later, Hindley delights
in maltreating Heathcliff as his servant, not knowing that his victim
is carrying on a secret love affair with his sister.
Although she is passionately in love with Heathcliff, Cathy decides to
marry Edgar Linton, one of her wealthy neighbours, lured by the life of
ease and luxury that her lover can never give her. Hurt by
this rejection, Heathcliff leaves to make his fortune in America.
When he returns, several years later, he sees that Cathy's love for him
has endured, but it is too late for a happy reconciliation.
Soured by bitterness, Heathcliff is only interested in revenge and
inflicting cruelty on the one he loved, and still loves...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.